HAYDEN — Jason Kilmer loves the sound of the gate opening at the hopper of his Probat coffee roaster, and then the beans sliding into the drum.

“To me, it’s just the beginning of this 10-to-12-minute adventure,” he said. “Even though you have things planned out, there’s some variables that go into it, and that just makes my mind so happy."

“That end result, you open the gate, out comes these gorgeous coffee beans.”

Kilmer offers a cup of fresh coffee.

“That was all roasted this morning,” he said. “What do you think?”

The 1992 Coeur d’Alene High School graduate is the owner and operator of Tubbs Coffee Roasters, which has a grand opening scheduled Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 13430 N. Clovis Road. It includes free coffee, treats, live music, and prizes.

Kilmer is looking forward to introducing people to his hill of beans roasted to different degrees of perfection. They come with names like “Teachers Pet,” described as a full city roast; Double Eagle, a dark roast; and Beast, an espresso.

There are also beans from Kenya, Rwanda and Guatemala.

Kilmer described his as a “roaster focused on ethically sourced beans from all corners of coffee producing countries.”

He is confident Tubbs Coffee Roasters will find a following in a competitive market.

“Hopefully we offer something that other roasters may have tried but didn’t succeed,” he said.

Step into Tubbs Coffee Roasters at 13430 N. Clovis Road and it hits you: the smell of coffee beans. It's everywhere. It is here Kilmer roasts the beans that come from around the world. It is here he seeks the perfect cup of coffee. It is here orders are packaged and then delivered.

In the back room, on a table, there are cups with beans in them. Others have grounds with roast identifiers like “Java BB” and “RC Rob OG.”

Arabica, a specialty coffee, is there, too. And Robusta.

“To me, it just pains me to roast arabica a little too dark, even though we do have dark roast,” Kilmer said.

“We want a little bit of that robusta in there to add that smoky, darker characteristic,” he adds later.

He speaks of roasting batches of beans, 75 pounds before he’s done on one recent night, measuring and pouring them into the shiny Probate.

“It’s just a great machine. It’s smooth, real smooth,” he said.

He discusses a “French press kind of extraction” like everyone knows about that means, and casually mentions roast profiles.

Beast espresso is described as a split between Columbian, a washed process coffee, and Brazilian,

Sumatra is the pinnacle of coffee from Indonesia.

“It has all these sort of earthy components to it, but it just’s got a really good body when it’s roasted.”

Java is a wet-hulled process, “Not the easiest to roast. It takes a little bit of finesse to get it through its drying phase and then that caramelization phase.”

Kilmer drinks coffee. A lot of coffee. For work and for pleasure.

“I am very much affected by caffeine,” he said. “Sometimes, with sampling like this, you have to do the job,” he adds, laughing

On this day, he is tasting for any fault, roast characteristics, and whether adjustments are necessary in this particular batch.

Creating good coffee calls for meticulous paperwork and details, recording acidity, body and aromatics.

“It’s all a very intricate network,” Kilmer said.

Each batch weighs about 18 to 20 pounds and depending on the bean and density, takes about 10 to 12 minutes.

“Timing is everything,” Kilmer said, “As soon as these beans get roasted and then they sit for about 24 hours, it’s time to get them into the package.”

Tubbs Hill Roasters is a family operation. His mom, Patti, is working at the front counter. A nephew helps with evening packaging and deliveries. Dad is in the business, too.

“I’m the guy that answers the phone, I’m going to be the one who sells the coffee,” Kilmer said.

Kilmer grew up in Coeur d’Alene. He spent much of his childhood in the downtown area and at Tubbs Hill. In fact, the logo for his business is of a child leaping from the silhouette of a rock — the very rock he often jumped from every summer.

He believes that business is about to be very robust. He expects to soon see an increase in online orders, in-store sales, and deliveries to stores and shops. He has wholesale accounts locally and in Montana and plans to take coffee connections with chambers, hotels and retailers.

A tasting bar is in the works for weekend warriors who want to learn more about home roasting.

“Tubbs coffee roasters will elevate your senses … flights of single origins … cupping like a professional … starting Saturday June 19 … weekends only,” according to the website.

“Come visit us at our roastery to imbibe brewed samples of our core blends and single origin series. And though we do not offer traditional cafe style coffee drinks, we do offer whole bean retail with an intimate and unique coffee experience that will connect you closer to your morning cup."

Before coffee beans, Kilmer was a commercial fisherman in Alaska and lived in Seattle for six years. He used to drink “a lot of bad coffee,” tossing grounds into a pot.

“To me, once you know how bad it is, then you know how good it can be,” he said.

He worked in the food and beverage business in San Francisco, and spent 14 years in sales and marketing in the wine industry.

“I know the business end of sales and marketing when it comes to a very specialized product,” he said.

A few years ago, he was introduced to coffee roasting. He studied the process, how coffee beans are grown, how the supply chain works. He dedicated a year to roasting and understanding how different beans react in different environments.

It ultimately led to Tubbs Coffee Roasters.

“We put together a pretty tight plan,” he said. “I firmly believe it’s not a lot of bells and whistles when it comes to marketing a product.”

Selling coffee beans “is all about transparency. And then it’s all about consistency and building quality relationships.”

“To me, that’s foundational to how we’re going to be successful,” he said.

Kilmer believes Tubbs Coffee Roasters will improve the coffee retail process — and produce some damn fine coffee along the way.

“We’re here to just kind of inspire,” he said.